


Think It Through

by flinchflower



Series: Slash Me Twice [35]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Discipline, M/M, Parenthood, Spanking, Spanking spoon, Wincest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-19
Updated: 2011-11-19
Packaged: 2017-10-26 06:34:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/279863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flinchflower/pseuds/flinchflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt 35: Pause. John gives some thought to his boys, and Missouri’s criticism.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Think It Through

**Author's Note:**

> Sigh. As I'm posting these, I'm sort of... shocked... at how much spanking there is in them. My apologies to those who don't care for that flavor of thing. I can promise you that there are fics that don't involve it, I can promise you that there's sort of a story arc started at this point. All I can do is tag things well for you!
> 
> Disclaimer: Not for profit, simply a writing exercise. Herein lies Dean/Sam slash, in an AU timeline where John did not lose his life. John appears in parental context only. Follows in series from previous prompts, but stands alone if preferred.

She’s always bluntly honest, that’s for certain. John turns his coffee mug in his hands and wonders how he’s going to explain this to her, the where of his family at least, if not the why. The sensation of being weighed and measured grates on his nerves, and he’s never been able to come to terms with it. He tries with his sons, but it’s a rocky road – it was from the beginning. He’s not sure, after nearly two and half decades, what will happen to them, once the Demon is gone. It’s yet another one of the bedfellows that crowd out sleep, that worry.

She seems to sense some of his annoyance, and sighs. “Well.” He can tell from her tone that she’s going to at least try and curb her impulses, even though it’s technically going against her better judgement. “I’ll say this. You should try and understand what that young man is going through, John. You’ve always had lesson after lesson for him, and this is no different. You let me teach you some of what we’ve been working on. I know how hard on him you are, and I don’t want to see him suffer for your ignorance.” John’s stung for a minute, taken aback, and she looks a little smug. “I’d teach Dean as well, but I don’t think either one of us would tolerate it.”

They both chuckle, imagining how many weeks Dean wouldn’t be able to sit down, likely, and John nods slowly.

“I can see that. Thing is, Missouri, we need to move out, I don’t have another three days – there’s a hunt Dean and I need to get on to, once Sam’s with Jim.”

“And I’m telling you it will wait. I don’t need three days, you fool, you don’t have Sam’s abilities. Until tomorrow afternoon will do. And you teach Dean, after – if anything else, it will give you an in to what Sammy goes through at times, let you help him.”

John’s silence speaks for itself. Finally, he nods again, giving his reluctant acquiescence, and Missouri sits back, smug. His youngest son’s volatile, uncontained emotions have always given him pause. He’s never been sure how he failed his son in that manner. Sam’s never been… controlled, contained, like John and Dean have – Dean’s more patient with it than John is, and it’s likely due to Dean realizing that a not a small part of it is a result of the way Dean indulged the younger boy while they were growing up. John’s always had to think twice before disciplining the two of them, when new issues come up, weighing how the boys will take it.

Dean tends to get wrapped up in his failures, they can be a blow to his confidence. If John scolds too hard, or hands out a too-severe punishment, it hurts more than it helps – for all his tough exterior, the boy’s sensitive. Fortunately, John’s an excellent judge, can count on one hand the number of time’s he’s missed the mark. It’s a narrow road to walk, giving Dean enough guidance or punishment to help ease his guilt, give him a solid reminder to think things through and not add to the heavy burden the boy is always carrying. Spanking the boy, well, he may be far too old, but the humiliation and childishness of it get to him, knocks the cockiness out of him long enough that he can listen to John. Extra training reinforces John’s messages, and Dean falls into that with relief, understanding it.

Sam. Sam doesn’t get wrapped up in his failures. Sam flat out wallows in them. He uses them as an excuse for soul searching, for angst, for attempting to draw John and Dean into long, winding discussions where whoever unlucky enough to get drawn in will have to walk on eggshells to keep from wounding the boy further. Punishing Sam gets interesting. John finds it amusing that his sons are so different, yet they both respond best to the child’s punishment. He thinks it’s likely the pain of it that gets to Sam, that the simple pain of a spanking probably makes Sam actually stop thinking for once, that the shock value gives John an opportunity to lecture him and get his mind pointed in a better direction. Now that Sam’s realized how important being in shape, quick, adept is, it’s easier for John to assign extra training, because he’s smart enough to see John’s message, which is usually to assign training relating to a weakness that needs to be overcome. When he was a boy, it was a golden excuse for Sam to radiate attitude for days. Thank God those days are over, though the boy finds plenty of other excuse for attitude at times.

Yeah, he may hate that Missouri challenges him, every scrap of his parenting, his choices, but sometimes the pause, the introspection is positive. He’s done thinking this through, he’s a little slow with it at times, but when it comes to that, Missouri’s a patient woman, as she is with all things. Well, most things, he corrects himself, as Dean comes through the doorway sniping at Sam, and makes the mistake of letting a cuss word fly for the fourth time since they’ve arrived. He sighs and stands up, grabs his oldest boy. Sam looks a little horrified, and John wishes that Dean could borrow some of that.

“Don’t bother, Missouri,” he says, as the woman scowls and goes for her favorite spoon. “I’ll take him out back.” He’s glad to see Missouri sitting Sam down with a cup of tea as he drags his son out the door, the boy needs a little rest after the last three days. He’ll make sure Sam’s all right later, though. For now, he’s going to warm Dean’s behind but good, and this time he’s gonna make sure that Dean’s having trouble sitting, see if it gives that mouth of his a little pause.

**Author's Note:**

> Music: The Four Seasons - Walk Like A Man


End file.
